Most actors audition to avoid losing a job they do not have. What it looks like to go the other way, and where the line sits between bold and arbitrary.
9 Things Actors Should Know About Fighting for an Audition
Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to
spend the 8:16 watching it.
Most actors audition to avoid losing a job they do not have
That is the whole diagnosis and it is worth sitting with. The energy goes into not annoying anyone rather than into the part. You cannot lose something you were never holding, so the caution is buying you nothing at all.
Casting exists because they want to see what you bring
If they knew exactly what they wanted, they would not need to watch anybody do it. They are looking for a version of the character better than the one on the page, or an embodiment of the one in their heads. Neither of those comes from playing safe.
Those notes are in the script so that people reading it can follow the story. They are not instructions to the actor. She has had major directors ask why an actor is doing something strange, been told it was in the script, and answer: can they not think for themselves.
This is the safety net that makes boldness cheap. If you are close to right and they need a specific thing, they will simply ask you to go again and do it. Then you do it. That is collaboration, and it is why there is no hill to die on here.
This is explicitly not about doing something odd mid-scene so they remember you. The test is whether it makes sense for the character and whether it genuinely excites you. Strangeness for its own sake is a different thing and it does not work.
A self tape lets you do things a room never allowed
If the character is cooking, bring in a board and a knife and actually prep dinner. If they are getting dressed, get dressed. You have a set and time, which is the real gift of taping. None of that was ever possible in an office.
Never bring a prop into a room, especially not a knife
The permission above applies to your own tape and stops at the door of an in-person audition. That distinction is absolute and worth remembering when an idea from a tape feels too good to leave behind.
Asking whether they will be okay with it is the tell
The moment you start wondering whether they will mind, she says the role is already not yours. The question worth asking instead is what you like. Follow the specific instructions, such as speak in your natural voice, and beyond that stop seeking permission.
Her suggestion is not that the work is bad but that it may be safe: not purposeful, not intentional, nothing anybody would fight for. Give them the version of the character you would still be glad to play eight times a week for years.
Do you fight for your auditions? Do you want to get that part? Are you going the extra mile to really make that character and that role your own? Probably not. Most of the actors that I work with when we start working on an audition, they try to not lose a job they don't have. That's really important. I really want to let that sink in. They try not to lose a role that they don't have. They're worried about making somebody mad. They're worried about what is it that the producer, director, casting director, what do they want? Who cares what they want? What do you want?
Of course, we care what they want. But I'm telling you, what they want is to see what you're going to do with the character, how you're going to bring it to life, how you're going to maybe make it better than it is on the page or an embodiment of what they think. the character should be. I have um another video that I love about don't do stage direction and or ignore stage direction. Sometimes you can do it, but I go into that more detail in that video. But line says that they have a koi smile. So you coily smile. What is that? What do you think the character should do? What do you think is happening in this scene? you. I want you to fight not just to get the part, but I want you to fight for your character.
Bringing that character, that person, that being to life. Make them think that nobody else could play that character other than you. This is how I know that. And if the character is if you're at all what it is that they are looking for and what they need you to do is a koi smile, they'll ask you to tape again or come in and say, "Can you do that again with a koi smile?" And of course, then you say yes, unless it's completely against your values, which I can't understand why it would, but I have another video about that. Film making, film and television, it's a collaboration. I never want you to find a hill you're gonna die on just because. Don't try not to lose a job you don't have. I cannot say that enough. Don't worry about what's going to make them mad. Worry about what's going to get them excited. And this does not mean arbitrary choices. This does not mean that, oh, okay, I want to I'm gonna they they won't forget me.
I don't want one of those like I'm going to do some weird thing in the middle of the scene so they won't forget me. No. What makes sense for the character? What gets you excited to do it? Nowadays with self tapes, there's so many opportunities to do things that you can't do in person. You can make these auditions even more interesting for you. the character's cooking, you can bring in a cutting board and a knife and maybe you're prepping dinner. You could if it makes sense and if it makes sense to you and you can handle the dialogue well that way. Never ever ever bring props into an audition, especially something like a knife. What is it that you want to do in an audition? I've had so much fun with actors and sometimes they get the job and sometimes they don't, but we have a ball when we have an audition and they get excited about doing something and I get excited and let's try this and let's do that. It doesn't say you should do this or you should do that.
But yes, that's exciting. You have that idea, let's do it. I'm always encouraging actors. I think maybe you've heard me say this before. I think what I do more than anything, especially with actors that are more experienced, is I give you permission. You want to try something? Let's do it. Let's try it. Of course. Can I do that? Of course you can. Fight for your auditions.
Fight for your characters. The worst that happens is you don't have a job you already don't have. Think about that. But what if I do it with an accent? Does it make sense to do it with an accent? Did they ask for an accent? Now, if they said speak in your natural voice, which they do quite often, very specific about that, you should speak in your natural voice. If if they say that they're open to accents or they want to I worked with somebody yesterday and they wanted a southern accent and this actor works a lot, so they'd been work talking in their southern accent all day before I started working with them. And it was fun. She loved it. there was, "Oh, great. This is really working for me.
What do you want to do next? It's so much fun." But trying to say like, "I wonder. Would they be okay with that?" If you start asking yourself if they're going to be okay with it, that role is not yours. Do you think they'll like that? Who cares? What do you like? I promise you most of the time the reason they're having casting is because they want to see what you're going to bring to it. And those little things like koi smile are written in there for people reading the script. It is not a way to direct you. I've had huge directors say to me, "Why are they doing it this way?" And, "Oh, well, it's in the script." Well, can't they think for themselves? No, they can't. They're trying to give you what you want.
They're trying not to They're trying to to keep a job they don't have. So, fight for it. Enjoy it. Enjoy that breaking down process and finding that thing that you can do in the scene. I have people with self tapes a lot changing clothes or getting dressed or something if that's what the character is doing. Really doing it. wearing something that's easy for you to maneuver around. Why not? If that's what your character is doing, it gets a little trickier in sex scenes. But sometimes they'll give you that as a self tape. Well, let's figure out a way to do it safely. I don't want you to get nude in a self tape.
Now, you can if nothing's seen, but I don't want you showing anything on a self tape. just you don't want to put that out there in the world, even if you're going to do nudity in it. So, if you're auditioning a lot and it is not you're not booking a lot, why don't you look at that? Maybe you're playing it too safe. Maybe it's not bad. It's just not purposeful and intentional. What do you have to lose? Another job you don't have. Fight for it. go in there and give them the character you see yourself playing. The one that excites you. The one that if you're going to be doing eight shows a week or playing for 15 years, you will get excited for every day.
So, when you are ready to do what you came here for, come and see me online or in person, and I will see you next week. Comment, like, subscribe. All right. Bye bye. Yes, that's my real sneeze.
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